Kukla's Korner Hockey

A nasty hit on Andrei Kostitsyn opened the door for Georges Laraque to show why the Montreal Canadiens went looking for an enforcer last summer.

Laraque was front and centre in a rough and chippy second period as the Canadiens downed the Phoenix Coyotes 4-1 on two goals from Alex Tanguay and a goal and two assists from Saku Koivu on Saturday night, although they look to have lost their gifted left winger Kostitsyn for an undetermined period.

“Whether it was cheap hit or not, when one of your best players gets knocked out like that, you’re not going to say it’s OK - you want to respond to it,” said Laraque.